University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. Sells 152 Shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG)

University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. reduced its position in shares of Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG) by 15.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 850 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 152 shares during the quarter. Booking comprises approximately 0.5% of University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Booking were worth $4,223,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Booking during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Booking in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in Booking during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its position in shares of Booking by 600.0% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 7 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. 92.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Booking Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BKNG opened at $5,341.91 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $4,807.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $4,895.17. Booking Holdings Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3,180.00 and a fifty-two week high of $5,379.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $173.83 billion, a PE ratio of 30.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.42.

Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The business services provider reported $24.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $17.57 by $7.24. Booking had a negative return on equity of 159.34% and a net margin of 24.78%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $20.39 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Booking Holdings Inc. will post 209.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Booking Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $9.60 per share. This represents a $38.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Booking’s payout ratio is 23.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on BKNG. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Booking from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Booking from $4,567.00 to $4,692.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Booking from $5,960.00 to $5,557.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Cfra raised Booking from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Booking from $5,500.00 to $5,800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5,299.29.

Booking Company Profile

Booking Holdings Inc, formerly The Priceline Group Inc, is a provider of travel and restaurant online reservation and related services. The Company, through its online travel companies (OTCs), connects consumers wishing to make travel reservations with providers of travel services across the world. It offers consumers an array of accommodation reservations (including hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, apartments, vacation rentals and other properties) through its Booking.com, priceline.com and agoda.com brands.